Monday, 17 February 2014

Cultural Concerns

by
Ian Harris Otago Daily Times Jan. 24, 2014

What is this column all about?
Doesn’t it undermine Christianity rather than present it as worthy of serious
consideration? Questions such as these
keep coming. I am accused of being bent on accommodating Christianity to this
secular age rather than have Christianity challenge it, which some feel would
be more to the point.

So a priest writes: “It would
seem that one of the reasons that Christianity has survived all the ages is
that it has not let itself be defined by the age. Instead it has challenged
every age without giving in to it.” He questions whether the secular ethos is
as widespread as the column implies (“it wouldn’t evoke much sympathy in Maori,
Polynesian and Melanesian circles”). Some contemporary attitudes to truth also
concern him: “Once we reject the possibility of objective truth, it seems we
get into all sorts of difficulties, especially with regard to moral truth.” Behind the comments lies a clear view of what
Christianity, the secular ethos and truth really comprise.

There are problems, however, in
regarding Christianity as a package of fixed beliefs and practices. One is that
certain beliefs and practices which one church says are indispensable, such as
the baptism of adults only or what exactly happens in the Catholic mass, are
rejected as wrong-headed or mystical nonsense by another. Appeals to the Bible,
divine authority or a church’s tradition will convince only those for whom they
are already persuasive.

Another problem is the gulf
that yawns both within and between churches on issues such as abortion,
euthanasia, homosexuality and war. Proclaiming the finality of one’s own moral
convictions does not necessarily make them true and unchangeable for all time.
Once, for example, it was a religious duty to stone adulterers and burn
witches, but not any more.

So it seems to me more fruitful
to think of Christianity as a broad religious and cultural stream. Christians
are then truest to their religious and cultural heritage when they follow the
age-old process of tracing the source of that stream, tapping deep into it, and
finding ways of expressing it in terms of their culture and worldview – which
for 21st-century westerners happens to be secular. The alternative is to keep expressing their
faith in terms of ancient Greek culture (the creeds), or Roman culture
(authority), or medieval culture (the superstition and the magic of a spirit
world). That looks less like keeping the faith than keeping fossils warm.

Instead, let’s accept that the
past 400 years have happened, and interpret the core tradition accordingly.
Then Christianity might have some hope of challenging – and enriching – the
life of our secular age. That may puzzle
those who think of the secular as inherently hostile to religion. It simply is
not – a better word for that stance is “secularist”.

In the original, neutral sense
of the word, “secular” refers to this time or age, without invoking a
supernatural or spirit world beyond them. It is in this world of space and time
that people experience their religious reality and shape their religious
practices. “Secular” is therefore not hostile to religion, but merely describes
its setting. The secular then becomes the context for thinking and acting with
religious integrity.

As for other cultures, they
must also be free to tap deep into the Judaeo-Christian (or any other)
tradition and find their own cultural ways of expressing it. There has been
talk in New Zealand of a Maori response to the gospel. If a Maori response, why
not a Pakeha response? And if, as in western society generally, our Pakeha
culture has become predominantly secular, why not a secular response?

In a globalising world, signs
are that Maori, Pacific Islanders, Melanesians and others will increasingly be
exposed to the influences that have produced the secular outlook of the West.
To the extent that they accept those secular understandings, they too will
become aware of a dissonance between their old ways and the implications of the
new. That can be painful. It has
certainly been painful for countless westerners brought up in traditional ways.
Many find the old patterns no longer sustain them, yet see their churches more
intent on building fences to protect past formulations than leading them into
faith’s new age.

Some
people, however, are adjusting, or at least they are willing to explore the
possibilities which the secular terrain opens up. If they can do some
worthwhile groundwork, people of other cultures may find some useful guideposts
already in place when they come to the same religious crossroads.

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About Me

I am not an academic. I have been a commercial beekeeper in New Zealand for most of my working life, except for four years in detention as a conscientious objector during WW2. Those years were particularly formative for me. I have retained my horror of war and the suffering still being caused by armed conflict and violence in so many places. My convictions have been nurtured by my Methodist church connection, though my pacifism has been deplored by some good people.

Expect no slick answers here; I am still a searcher myself. How can a just and peaceful society develop from this chaos, and what are the obstacles in the way?

Most of the articles posted here are from other sources. I look for writers, wherever they can be found, who can throw light on what is happening in our world. If you would like to learn a little more about myself, please read this biographical interview series conducted by my granddaughter, Kyla.